


An Absence of Light

by R_Armchair



Category: Final Fantasy XIII Series, Final Fantasy XIII-2
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Darkness, F/M, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, redo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-17 22:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21651079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_Armchair/pseuds/R_Armchair
Summary: Fenrir has cloaked the Yaschas Massif in darkness, but there are further reaching effects for Hope and Alyssa.
Relationships: Hope Estheim/Alyssa Zaidelle
Kudos: 2





	An Absence of Light

**Author's Note:**

> This thing is unequivocally A/H, I’m gonna warn ya now - don’t expect any other ships. Also, winter is in full swing in the Northern Hemisphere and SAD is a thing. Thus, this short story was born...because I miss the sun. :(
> 
> If you rather listen:  
> [ the mp3 lies here ](https://www.dropbox.com/s/7jit33mcjibsznv/AnAbsenceofLight.mp3?dl=0)  
> —but whoops, I mispronounced ‘massif’

* * *

**7 AF**

Fenrir eclipsed the sun in the same way it’d done all year.The limited light was not unlike the forgotten cities of Cocoon, no longer graced by Phoenix’s warmth.Past the cliffs of Palumpolum and the hardened waves of Lake Bresha, no creature could survive the dark. The Yashchas Massif had that same depth of insurmountable gloom.Even if a person could ignore the fal’Cie, they’d only need walk the path to Paddra to see the dire state the world was still in.

Hope had been frozen in crystal, but the bodies that littered the landscape had been frozen between time.There, yet not there.Shadows and echoes plagued anyone willing to travel.But the ruins were better than home.

Nepotism had granted him a spot amongst the elite.He understood why his l’Cie companions had fled upon humanity’s restructure.The daily pressure to excel drained him into nothing.He specifically wore his clothes bulky.Whether or not he held the title of Director, male Academy uniforms were designed equally.If he didn’t wear his heavy jacket at all hours, inevitably a kind-hearted attendant would comment on his ever shrinking figure.

It was too late to run away to New Bhodum, but the one thing he could do was lead a small expedition around Pulse.His office at the Academy lay empty.Alyssa, his newly assigned assistant, had questioned his packing.

“We’ll be back in a month, Director,” she’d said.

Then, she’d dutifully shipped the entirety of the room’s contents anyway to the tent where Hope now sat.Surrounded by his books and computers, he didn’t know his next move.The margins of his notebooks were filled with doodles of the fal’Cie he’d seen in person.Like many youth, he’d seen the Cocoonian variety up close.But the feral ones of Pulse had abandoned their posts when Vanille and Fang had proven themselves top of the magical pecking order.

Hope looked up from his sketch when Alyssa entered his makeshift office.“Any change?” he asked.

“No, Director.”She tried to look at his notebook, but he slammed it shut.“The projection is its usual, fuzzy, screeching mess.The team wants to focus on something new, and honestly so do I.We’ve wasted a lot of time here on nothing.Wasn’t the point to study Fenrir?”

“Do not question my authority, Zaidelle,” he said, shaping the words between his lips, annunciating each sound.

She placed her hand over his, and he had the urge to slap it away.When she slid her fingertips up his forearm, the urge vanished.The fine hairs stood on end when her touch lifted away.

“Relax.”She pushed the notebook into an open drawer, and shoved it closed. “You’re far too tense.Not good for your health.”

“Are you suggesting something?” he asked through gritted teeth.Though, he already knew the answer.

* * *

**13 AF**

“Please, let me take off my jacket,” Hope said, slowly moving his hands toward the series of toggles.

“Why should I?” The gun visibly shook in Alyssa’s hand as she almost dropped it.

“For my father.”He unworked each fastener at a slow pace, sure to let her know that he wasn’t a threat.“We had nothing left of my mother.Even the photos at home were damaged in the raid.Let him at least have one reminder of me not stained with blood.”

She jerked her gun toward a chair where he could toss his coat.“Fine.”

“Alright.I’m ready.”

“How can you be ready?I’m trying to kill you, Director.You haven’t once tried to stop me.I will shoot you.I’m going to fucking kill you.”

With his eyes closed, he turned around and held up his arms.“I know.And I’m ok with it.”

“How?” Her voice began to warble now, the rage and adrenaline building.“Don’t you want to live?”

“Not as much as you do.I’ve mistreated you.Let me atone for it.”He dropped to his knees, making things easier for her.

“When?You were my only friend.” She stepped closer so that the metal of the gun touched the back of his head.

“Were we?You were my assistant.No one should put a twenty-year-old in charge of a de-facto government.”

“Just because I’ve had your dick in my mouth a couple of times doesn’t mean that all the years after that meant nothing.If they had I would have left.I could have snitched.But I didn’t.Don’t be that way.Don’t act like you kept me out of guilt.You needed me.”

“Everything I’ve ever done has been out of guilt.That and failure are the only motivators either of us have ever had.”He took in a breath and peered over his shoulder.“You might want to back up a few steps.If you shoot me at this range, you’re going to make a mess.This is your first time, you wouldn’t know that.”The hardened look he gave her caused her to tense and prematurely fire at the floor.The safety had been on, so the weapon didn't discharge.“I don’t want your first kill to scare you.This is something you’ll have to live with.Also, wait til I turn back around.Now, whenever I see hazel eyes, they remind me of that first PSICOM officer.He’d hesitated because I was a child.He’d shown mercy.I didn’t.”

“Admit it.”She was on the verge of shouting, despite trying to maintain her calm.“Admit that we were friends.No, that we were _equals_.” She cuffed his ear with the butt of the gun.Silver hair wicked the dribble of blood.

“Alyssa.” He spoke like he were addressing a child.“We were never friends.I’m not capable of it.Everyone I’ve cared about has long since left me.I haven’t trusted someone in years.Isn’t that the cornerstone of friendship?So get it over with.I hope you get what you need.”

There was a deafening crack that echoed up the tower, followed by a thud of something large falling to the glowing floors.

* * *

**X AF**

Hope sat in his makeshift office in the Paddra Ruins.The sun beat heavily down on the Yaschas Massif.At such a high elevation, even a brief walk beyond the series of tents would result in a sunburn.He doodled the images of Fal’Cie he’d met in the margins of his notebooks.

Alyssa had been begging him all day to come down to her quarters for dinner.He had a sneaking suspicion she wanted far more than to cook him a meal.He’d spent the entire seventh months since her assignment trying to his best to rebuff her.If she came on to him one more time he was prepared to hire a new assistant.At least, that was what he told himself.

“Director,” Alyssa said, sweeping her way into his office.“They’re saying the video has changed.”

Ever since the excavation team had unearthed the Oracle Drive, the men of the expedition had been watching the video on a loop.Hope had himself been quite taken with the image of Lightning battling.He, of course had different reasons. He missed his friend terribly, and was renewed with gusto at the thought of her surviving.Everyone else who watched the video was inevitably using it as jack-off material.The woman was wearing the most fetishy suit of armor the universe could have come up with.Fang would have been thrilled.

“They still have it on?” Hope asked, turning off the radio he used to mask the sound of clashing swords and magic.

“Yes, Sir.”She held the curtain door back so that Hope could exit.

When he got outside he was greeted with laughter, then silence.All personnel surrounding the Oracle Drive fled at the sight of the Director.He realized immediately what they’d found so hilarious.

The drive projected a woman who shared genetic similarities to Lightning.This woman was stuck in an endless loop of shouting.“Hope, you idiot!What kind of dumbass builds a fal’Cie? An f-ing DUMBASS that’s who.”All the while, she shot elemental arrows at a beast that looked familiar.

The celestial creature was exactly the same as the one he’d designed at the back of his notebook.He’d been spending his spare time piecing together the useful features of each fal’Cie.His intent had been to build one from scratch that would be under human control. Apparently he’d screwed up and needed a new approach.Excitement itched pleasantly beneath his skin.

“Are we still on for dinner?” Alyssa loudly asked over the shouting.

“I’m gonna pass,” Hope said with a smile.“I need to go back to the drawing board.”He almost darted back into his office, but then he paused.“I’m going to need your technical expertise.So if you’re willing to work overtime, I’m dying for your input.”

“I don’t need the money.But when we publish whatever you’re working on, I get co-credit.Fair?”

“Fair and square,” he said, holding the curtain open so she could enter.


End file.
